Pneumatic tire



June 7, 1960 H. B. HINDIN E-rAL 2,939,502

PNEUMATIC TIRE Filed Oct. 28, 1954 BY fw; f?

A GEN T Tru-w.

This invention relates to an improved pneumatic tire casing, and more particularly it relates to a pneumatic tire casing characterized by an unusually low profile and flat, wide tread.

One object of the invention is to provide aA pneumatic tire that has less weight and uses less material, and also takes up less space, than conventional tires of equivalent load-carrying capacity.

Another object is to make feasible a pneumatic tire which presents a greater tread area of contact with the road, thereby affording better traction and reduced wear.

Still a further object of the invention is the provision of a pneumatic -tire havingk greater resistance to peaking and tread separation under the influence of centrifugal forces developed at high speeds. t

It is a' further object of the vinvention to provide a pneumatic tire casing which deiiects less under aV given load. f Y Y Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be :made manifest in the,` following 'detailed description, which is intended to be'read with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. l is a fragmentary perspective view, with parts broken away, of a pneumatic tire of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of a modification of the invention; and, s `f Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view lication'ofthe invention. 1

Referring to Fig. l, the pneumatic tire shown therein is comprised; of an internal reinforcing carcass made of a plurality of plies 11 of rubberized tire fabric, -which are wrapped around inextensible Vbead members 12 loof another modicated at the rim areas of the tire.. Each of the carcass ito the other, makingj-an angleof some 4( (and usually withinthe range of fromj` 3 0."v to155)` with a circumferential center line passing along'the crown of the tire. Alternate plies are arranged so that the cords run in opposite directions. The cords 13 are usually made of textile material, such as cotton, rayon or, preferably, nylon, but wire may also be used for this purpose.

Disposed on the upper crown surface of the carcass is a layer 1S of strong Wire cable Wound circumferentially around the carcass for a plurality of turns, so as to form a positivey restraining element on the outer surface of the carcass. For this purpose the wire cable is suitably formed first into a band, as by winding the cable on a thin band of rubber contained on a suitable collapsible form. Such band is applied to the tire carcass subsequent to the shaping of the carcass, which is initially assembled in the form of a fiat band in accordance with the fnited States Patent Ice 2, usual'practice. As'a resultrof the restraining action of the circumferential Yband ofwire cable 15, the crown area 17 of thecarcass is maintained in a at condition,V

even when the tire is inflated. A rubber tread 19 is superimposed on the outer surface of the wire cable band, and rubber sidewall portions are similarly assembled over the sidewallareas of the carcass. The rubber tread por tion is so shaped as"`to conform essentially to the iiat contour of the carcass and wire cable band. By flat contour is meant that the inextensible wire restraining members are disposed in'a single cylindrical surface and restrain the crown area of the carcass to a single cylindri-` cal surface parallel to and coextensive in width to the Width of the surface of the layer of inextensible wire restraining members.

The width of the circumferential restraining band is such that there is no tendency, when the tire is inated, to induce chaiing strains at the lateral edges of the band by reason of any tendency of the sidewall or shoulder portion to curve or bulge outwardly beyond or above the plane of the band,` as would be the case if the band were too narrow in a given tire Similarly, the proportionsr are such that there is no tendency for the sidewall at the shoulder portion to bend sharply downwardly or inwardly at the edge of the band to cause separation at that point, as would be the case if the band were too wide for aV given tire. In other words, the tire is proportioned and cured in the form or shape it naturally assumes when" inflated, with the flat, restrained tread merging at its edges with the sidewalls ina smooth,-

gradual' curve 'free from any reverse curvature or sharp point of inflection. The relaxed tire has essentially the same shape asthe inflated tire. Y i 4The modification of` the invention. shown in Fig. 2' is similar to'` that described in connection with Fig. 1,exceptthat the` cords ,3'0 in the carcass plies in this form of the invention are disposed-essentially transversely, that is, they are disposed at an angle of about 80 vor more to the circumferential center line of the tire. f v

-The modification of the invention shown in Fig. Sire-p1 resents an extreme degree of restraint imposed by a cir- A adhered tothe carcass rubber and tothe tread rubber byasuitable rubber-to-metal adhesion process, such asv cumferentially wound steel cable 36 disposed on the up per surface of the linultiplycarcass 37,',so as to provide anunusually wide Yand very low'tire that is particularlyadapted for use as an airplane tire. The carcass of'this tire can be assembled inV essentially the desired shape on a collapsible drum, and thel steel cable can be wound directly on the upper vcrown surface of the carcass on the drum.y

VIn all cases, the circumferential wire band is firmly is afforded by brass plating thewire. it will be observed that the layer of inextensible Awireirestraining members is positioned at the `juncture of Vthe carcass and the tread.

Ihe stranded'wir'e cables. comprising the bandmay be` mdivldually'irubber' coated, or they may be formed intoV a layer of cord fabric with a skim coating of rubber stock on one or both sides by calendering procedures known in the tire building art. A band of such fabric may be wound circumferentially around the crown of the carcass and overlapped to form a splice, or such band may be wound around for more than one turn. Two or more layers or plies of such fabric may be superimposed if desired. In al1 cases the cords in such breaker plies will be disposed essentially circumferentially, that is, the cord angle will 4be very near to 0 (i.e., in no case greater than about 20), so that the cords are enabled to impose the necessary severe circumferential restraint.

Because it is feasible to make the tread of the present tire unusually wide and flat, it presents a greater area of contact with the road, thereby minimizing wear and im- Ptented June 7, `1960,

proving traction. Thus, the form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 1 has an essentially rectangular footprint, that is, when this tire is pressed against the road under @unal load., the arca, of Contact isssentiallr a, rectanele in Contrast to the generally oval-Shapesl'tefrrint 1118- played by a conventional tire of the sameA size, "The modification of Fig. 2, embodying 90 angle fabricl in the carcass, presents a unique form of footprint having a wider area of contact in the, shoulder than in the crown.

It should be noted that the flat tread profile of the present tire is achieved with a tread rubber portion of essentially uniform thickness, because the underlying portion of the tire casing is itself at. In contrast,` in C9117 ventional constiuctions, in which the carcass is of essentially circular or definitely curved form, relativeatnuess can be achieved at the tread surface only by making the tread unusually thick toward the shoulderregions, Such expedient is objectionable not only from th standpoint of representing a waste of rubber, but it also makes the tire heavier than necessary, and leads to the generation of more heat, since there is more rubber to flexwith each revolution of the tire, and there is less opportunity for heat to escape. v

By utilizing the present construction, tires may be made much wider and, in proportion to the height,Y than has heretofore been practicable. Thus, the present tire is readily made two or more times as wide as it is high without difculty. Therefore tires constructed in accordance with the present practice can be used to replace dual tires on heavy vehicles. In fact, the single-chambered tire of the invention can be made three, four, or even more times as wide as it is high, thus achieving performance characteristics that could heretofore-be approximated only by resorting to complex multi-chambered constructions.

By employing a circumferentially wound inextensible band to restrain the tire as described, it ispossible to vary greatly the extent of the restraint, to suit a particular use to which the tire is to be put. Thus, passenger tires it may be desirable to imposeV a deg-ree of restraint of anywhere from 5%y to 50%, that is, the scction height of the tire might be 5% to 50% less' than the height to which the same tire would normally expand upon inflation in the absence of the essentially eircumferential restraining breaker of the invention. VIn some instances, as in the case of airplane tires, even higher degrees of restraint, of the order of 80%, may be desirable. i

The present tires Atake up less room than usual tires, in addition to utilizing less rubber and being lighter in weight.

Having thus described our invention, what we and desire -to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A pneumatic tire casing comprising a exible carcass of rubberized cord fabric having a crown area and contiguous sidewall areas terminating in spaced bead areas containing essentially inextensible bead members, said carcass defining an interior chamber ofthe tire casing in which inilating air u nder pressure is adapted to be contained, a single layer of inextensible stranded wire claim restraining members circumferentially disposed around the outside crown area of said carcass in a single cylindrical surface and restraining said crown area to a single cylindrical surface parallel to and coextensive in width to the width of the surface of said layer of inextensiblc Wire restraining members. without substantially changing the inflated curvature of' the'remainder of said carcass, said layer of inextensible wire restraining members imposing a degree of restraint of from 5% to 80% of the section height thev inflated casing would, have if unrestrained, a rubber tread and sidewall overlaying said layer of inextensible wire restraining members'and said carcass with said layer o f inextensible wire restraining members positioned at the juncture of said carcass and said tread and adhered thereto and with said tread fully supported by rubber extending from the surface of the tread to the carcass over the full width of the tread.

2. A pneumaticY tire casing comprising a flexible car-f cass of rubberized cord fabric having a 'crown area and contiguous sidewall areas terminating in spaced bead areas'containing essentially inextensible bead members, a single layer of inextensible wire restraining members circumferentially disposed around the outside crown area of said carcass in a single cylindrical surface and restraining said crown area to a single cylindrical surface parallel to and coextensive in width to the width of the surface of said layer of inextensible wire restraining members without substantially changing `the inflated curvature of the remainder of said carcass, a rubber tread and sidewall overlaying said layer of inextensible wire restraining members and said carcass with said layer of inextensible wire restraining members positioned at the juncture of said carcass and said tread and adhered thereto and with said tread fully supported by rubber extending from the surface of the tread to the carcass over the Y* full Width of the tread.

3. A pneumatic tire casing as defined in claim 2 wherein the cord fabric of the carcass is disposed with the cords therein forming an angle of at least with respect to the circumferential center line of the tire.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,188,062 Gammeter June 20,v 19116 1,189,223 Albrecht July 4, 1916 1,554,370 Renner Sept. 22, 1925 1,678,211 Davidson July 24, 1928 1,921,772 Paull l Aug. 8, 1933 2,388,421 Kraft Nov. 6, 1945 2,605,201 Howe v July 29, 1952 2,874,742 Lugli t. Feb. 24, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 410,031 France Mar. 5, 1910 508,165 Belgium Jan. 15, 1952 (Corresponding Great Britain Patent 700,435 Dec. 2, 1953) 1,078,882 France 7.... May l2, 1954 1.

(Corresponding Great Britain Patent 720,150 Dec. 15, 1954) 

